Cisco shows new uses for IoT tech at COEX exhibit

Irving Tan, Cisco Systems’ Asia Pacific and Japan president Provided by Cisco Systems

The Internet of Things (IoT) is often understood as revolving around home appliances or personal gadgets, but Cisco Systems seeks to expand the concept to include cities and factories.

The leading network equipment manufacturer demonstrated its technological vision at the two-day Cisco Connect exhibit at COEX in Samseong, southern Seoul. The exhibit showcased many different public areas connected to the Internet. Attendees included key Cisco figures including Asia Pacific and Japan President Irving Tan, Corporate Development Director Derek Idemoto, and representatives of local IT companies partnered with Cisco.

The key to industrial IoT technology is combining information and operations technology so that IT devices can stream information from factories in real time, although management information and operational technology have traditionally been separate, with different solutions used for different types of devices.

Cisco is drawing upon its broad networking experience to integrate traditionally separate segments.

Industrial IoT also represents new revenue for the company as it faces slowing sales of network equipment.

Cisco emphasized its business focus in its investment plan.

“We are looking at investing in emerging markets with huge potential, such as Big Data and Internet of Things,” said Idemoto

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers said that the IoT - with products connected to parking lots or household goods - could be a $19 trillion opportunity.

The company demonstrated IoT platforms for a noodle company on the main floor of COEX.

When a monitoring system for an assembly line connected through the company’s integrated network system stopped, the monitor immediately noted the glitch.

The monitors can display information at headquarters and supply chains in different countries.

“A malfunction of the factory system would appear later if there were no integrated system,” said Kim Su-man, a director at Cisco.

Local IT companies N3N and Namoo I&C also participated in the so-called Smart Factory initiative.

With regard to parking lots, embedded sensors in the lot’s cameras could detect whether cars had disabled or VIP passengers.

The system also detected when an unregistered car attempted to park.

Highlights also included a drone that could measure a diverse range of environmental and chemical conditions, such as radioactivity or fine particle concentration in the air.

“Now, conventional measurements are fixed at certain places,” a presenter of the drone booth said. “But with the drone, people can send it wherever they want and detect different conditions by altering the sensors attached to it.”

The drone is a collaboration between Cisco, Hanyang University and Konkuk University.

Cisco Korea CEO Jeong Gyeong-won said the company will continue seeking partnerships to promote IoT platforms.

“We’d like to cooperate with large firms, SMEs, and government organizations to cultivate more joint innovation partnerships, going forward.”

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]